Hydropneumatic machine for exhausting and sealing vessels



UNITED STATES .\V. H. ELLIOT, OF PLATTSBURG, NEWV YORK.

HYDROPNEUMATIC MACHINE FOR EXHAUSTING AND SEALING VES SELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 13,303, dated July 24,1855.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, V. H. ELLIOT, ofPlattsburg, county of Clinton, State of New York, have invented a newand Improved Mode of Exhausting and Sealing Vessels; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.,

The nature of my invention consists in the combination and arrangementof certain devices for the purpose of exhausting, wholly or partially,vessels whose contents may be improved or preserved by removing fromthem the pressure or presence of the atmosphere, said vessels beingsealed hermetically while in connection with the exhausting apparatus bydevices connected with said apparatus or independent of it.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference markedthereon,

the same letters indicating the same parts in each figure.

Figure 1 is an isometrical drawing of the exhausting apparatus. a is theexhaust cham-. her or cylinder; 1), the mouth of the chamber, whichserves both for ingress and egress to and from the chamber; 0 c, theframe; (I, the lever; r, the neck of the chamber; 8, the sealing-lever;0, airtight cover of joint.

Fig. 2 is a perpendicular section of the exhausting apparatus, showingthe scaling devices in the neck of the chamber a,with a part of a bottlehaving a metallic tubular stopper in its mouth,and the tube of thestopper placed in the mouth of the chamber, as when in use. 6 is the bagor elastic movable bottom of the chamber; ff, co1lars,which are firmlyscrewed together upon the bottom of the chamber; bolts which fasten thechamber to the frame. Between these the outer edge of the elastic bag orbottom of the chamber is caught and held firmly; a, yielding lining ofmouth I).

Fig. 3 is a perpendicular section of the neck and mouth of the chamber,with a part of a bottle, t, having in its mouth an elongated tubularstopper, 1). a is the elongated portion or neck of the tubular stopper,showing also the device for sealing by compression; h h, jaws which,when brought together upon the neck a of stopper 1) by means ofthumbscrew S, cut through the neck and compress it so as to form aperfect hermetical seal, as represented in t", Fig. 6. During theoperation of compression the jaws h h hold the stopper firmly in themouth of the chamber, so that no air is liable to enter the mouth 1)during the process of sealing. The yielding lining a, which secures anair-tight connection between the stopper and the chamber, need notnecessarily be attached to the chamber.

ing material-placed between the chamber and the vessel exhausted.

Fig. 4 represents another form of device for lent of that represented inFig. 3. h represents jaws which cut off and compress neck a of stopper1); S S, lever by which jaws h are moved; 2, projections on side of neck1' of the chamber, forming connection between the sealing device and theneck of the chamber, said projections holding said sealing device firmlyin its place while exhausting the vessel. The jaws remain open; but whenexhaustion is complete the vessel is sealed by bringing together leversS S.

Fig. 5 is a section of tubular stopper p sealed by means of plug 2' andcap '0. x is a perforated plate which serves to prevent the contents ofthe vessel from stopping up tube R of the stopper.

Fig; 6 is a section of elongated soft-metal tubular stopper. 1" is aseal,which is made by cutting oil" and compressing neck a by means ofthe device represented in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a section of a movable nose to the chamber, serving when inuse to give a downward direction to liquid discharged from the chamber.This noseis held in its place by the hand.

The operation of exhaustin g and sealing with this apparatus may be donein the following manner: Take any substance which has been prepared forpreserving, and fill the vessel to be exhausted with as much as it willconveniently contain. Then if a perfect vacuum be required, fill theempty space in the vessel with water or other liquid up nearly to thegroove 1 which is to receive the stopper- 1). Fill the groove withmelted cement and set the stopper into it. Then fill the remaining emptyspa e with the liquid till the air is all expelled from It may be a partof the stopper,or some yield-' sealing by compression, which is anequiva thebottle or vessel, and itis then ready to be exhausted andsealed. To prepare the exhausting apparatus for this operation the lever(1 must be raised and fastened up. The remaining empty space in thechamber d must then be filled completely with the same liquid used inthe vessel. If no liquid be used in the vessel, then water may be usedfor expelling the air from the chamber, and when the scaling is to beaccomplished, by plugging the stopper 1) the steel tube j must be takenfrom the mouth of the chamber and pressed through a slice of potatoabout one-fourth of an inch in thickness, by which process the tube cutsout and retains plug i, which is exactly suited to the purpose. Then thetube j, containing the plug, may be dropped into the mouth of thechamber a, the upper end of the plunger h passing into the tubej,restingagainst the plug i, supporting it and the tube, as represented in thedrawings. Both the apparatus and the bottle are now ready for theprocess of exhaust ing and sealing, which is accomplished by turning thevessel bottom up ard and placing tube R of stopper 1) in the mouth Z) ofthe chamber, as represented in the drawings. Then by depressing lever da vacuum is opened in the chamber, which must be of sufficient capacityto contain all the liquid in the vessel. As soon as the vacuum is formedin the chamber,the liquid begins to flow through the stopper 1) into theneck 1* of the chamber, then through openings '10 w in the flange of theplunger into the chamber, and continues to flow till it is all down,leaving a perfect or nearly perfect vacuum in the vessel.

In case no liquid be used in the bottle or vessel exhausted, the chambershould be much larger than the vessel, because in that case the largerthe chamber a is in comparison with the space occupied by air in thevessel the more perfect will be the vacuum when produced. If it benecessary to make the vacuum still more perfect without the use of aliquid in the vessel, it is only required to warm it with its contentsas much as may be without softening the cement around the stopper. Bythis heating a large portion of the air is driven out by expansion; butwhen the vessel is exhausted the little air remaining in it is expelledalmost completely by the vapor arising in the vessel in consequence ofremoving the weight of the atmosphere from its contents while in aslightly-heated condition This heat is used in combination with themechanical action of the exhausting apparatus to aid in producing a moreperfect result. WVhen exhaustion is completed, to seal the vessel it isonly necessary to depress the sealing-lever S, which causes the plungerh to rise, carrying up with it the tube j and plug z until the tube jstops against the tube R of the stopper; but the plunger h, continuingits motion, carries the plug 03 out of tube 9' into tube R, and thustemporarily seals the Vessel. The permanent seal consists of a cap, I),Fig. 5, which is placed upon the tube R of the stopper with a littleinto the vessel.

cement under it. The position of the plug 2' in the stopper isrepresented in Fig, 5.

The process of sealing the vessel by compression after it has beenexhausted, as above described, is effected in the following manner:Close the jaws of the sealing-device h h, Fig. 3, upon the neck of thestopper 1), while the vessel is in an exhausted state, by means of thethumb-screw S, and the neck a will be cut through, and at the same timeso thoroughly compressed as to form a perfect seal, as represented in2", Fig. 6. The sealing may then be finished by plunging'the stopperinto melted wax or cement.

The most suitable material for plug 71 is potato, in consequence of itspeculiar natural qualities, as well as its cheapness and the facilitywith which it may always be obtained. hen this material is fresh andplaced in a stopper, the tube of which is slightly tapering, it iscapable of resisting the weight of twelve atmospheres without beingdriven through No particular form, however, is necessary to success. Acap of the same or any yielding material may be carried by the plungerIL, or some equivalent device, and placed upon the end of the tubularstopper. The steel tube j, which cuts out the plug and holds it upon theend of the plunger, may be dispensed with, and the plug 2' held by othermeans.

The stopper 19 may be so constructed as to contain the plug at one partof the tube R and let the fluid contents of the bottle pass out by it,and when exhaustion is complete it may be driven farther into thestopper by the plunger, to a point where it fills the tube R perfectly,and so seal the vessel, thus making the stopper serve one of thepurposes for which the steel tube j is used; but the simplest of allthese equivalent devices are those represented in the drawings.

In selecting a liquid for expelling the air from the vessel previouslyto exhausting it,

one should be chosen which could have none but a preservative influenceupon the preserved substance.

All kinds of fruits are preserved in sirups; most kinds in brandy;animal substances in brine. Any of these may be used in their properplace as a device for exhausting when a perfect vacuum is necessary; butwhen aperfect vacuum is not necessary to success the air may be expelledfrom the chamber by water.

When the substance to be preserved. or improved is a liquid, then thevessel should be perfectly filled, and the chamber also with the sameliquid, and only a portion of the liquid removed from the vessel beforesealing.

The projections G and perforated plates 00 within the concavities ofstoppers p and p are equivalent devices, their object being to preventthe contents of the vessel from closing the tube R.

Among the important devices combined in this invention are thefollowing, viz: The use of a liquid for expelling the air from thevessel and the force (viz. gravity) made use of for removing said liquidfrom the vessel; the use of a liquid for expelling the air from thechamber; the use of lever (Z in connection with the chamber a and itselastic movable portion 6 e; the combination of the yielding lining ofthe mouth of the chamber, which secures an airtight connection betweenthe chamber and the vessel exhausted with the other devices of theexhausting apparatus; the seal or plug r, so arranged that during theprocess of exhaustion it leaves the mouth of the vessel open, but whenexhaustion is completed is carried to its place in the stopper 1? byplunger h, so as to seal the exhausted vessel, said plunger beingoperated by lever S or any other mechanism applied for the purpose, thesealing devices, Fig. 3, and seal 1', Fig. 6, used in connection withdevices of the exhausting apparatus.

It may be seen that valves have been avoided in the arrangement of thedevices of this apparatus, and the reasons for avoiding them are thatthey would make the apparatus more complicated, and consequently moreexpensive and more liable to get out of order. These obj ections'wouldrender it unfit to be placed in the hands of common housekeepers. Incase valves were used, both the inlet and outlet valve must be placed inthe upper part of the chamber, above the liquid used for expelling theair, for reasons obvious. The mouth of the chamber need not necessarilyopen upward, except when the vacuum is to be pro- (luced by removing aliquid from the vessel, though such an arrangement of the mouth of thechamber is better adapted to the general purposes of the apparatus.

The movable bottom of the chamber 0 0 would work as well on the side ofthe chamber as in the position represented in the drawings, though notso conveniently, its principal object being to increase or decrease thecapacity of the chamber for the purpose of pro ducing certain effects;and almost any one of the mechanical powers may take the place of leverd. A rack and pinion particularly would work with equal advantage. Thiscombination of devices for exhausting may be used without expelling theair from the chamber by the use of a liquid; but the result would be farless perfect, for the reason that considerable space must be allowedwithin the chamber a, so as to give room for its elastic bottom 6 e toturn upon itself, which space must be 00- cupied by air unless said airbe expelled by a liquid.

The special purpose of this invention is the exhausting and sealing ofvessels containing substances which may be preserved or improved bybeing placed in or in connection with partial or perfect vacuum.

Having fully described my invention, I claim The yielding lining ofmouth I), the chamber a,with its elastic movable portion e e, and thelever d, with or without the liquid used for expelling the air from thechamber a, or their equivalents,- when used in combination, operating inany manner essentially the same as herein described, and for thepurposes herein set forth.

WV. H. ELLIOT.

'Witnesses:

B. K. MORSELL, JOHN NoRMiLn.

